


What is the right time

by Nivelle



Category: Actor RPF, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 14:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17326352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nivelle/pseuds/Nivelle
Summary: Chris really needs a place to stay that is not Scarlett's sofa. And Sebastian didn't even have time to think about the now empty person-shaped space in his apartment before Anthony presents someone who fits perfectly.





	What is the right time

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome!  
> First time AU, first time this fandom. So ... yeah, well, we'll see how that works out. Very likely over the course of approximately 5 chapters. This one's more like a how-did-they-get-into-this-situation-in-the-first-place sorta thing which is the reason for the shortness.

Chris had never assumed it would be easy to find a place to live. He was aware that many people were looking for a room, especially in his price range, and - even worse - in New York. So he thought making a list of all the places that met his minimal requirements, checking out every single one of them, was a reasonable approach to find at least one option.  
Well.  
Turns out his requirements, which he’d described prior to this room hunting experience as very basic, are actually not basic at all. Who needs heating if you can just wear every piece of clothing you own in layers?

He steps out of the building and looks back at the former flower shop. The guy, who advertised it as an “airy room with big windows and own front door” waves at him.  
Nope, Chris thinks. He is not sure if he’s brave enough to live in a room that’s only separated from the streets by already taped glass. He waves back, then turns around and pulls the list out of his pocket.  
It’s rather sobering, looking at that list. Out of the twenty-seven addresses, seventeen were a definite no (for example roommates with more than four feet, a fucking hole in the floor, blood stains of unknown origin, no water – sometimes in fun combinations), five were a rather-not-but-maybe (mostly very weird roommates, like the dude who pointed at seemingly random places in the apartment and insisted that there were ghosts and they talked to him – it wouldn’t have been that bad, if they hadn’t all been very bloodily murdered and the other roommate looked very much like a vampire, just staring at them as they entered the kitchen on their dungeon-like tour, while throwing knives at a Star Wars poster – or the ghost of headless Mrs Bell hovering in front of it, Chris didn’t dare to ask.)  
Only two had been acceptable so far, meeting his expectations, which had become faint hopes at best, almost completely (as long as there was a shower on the same floor) and two had already been gone before he got there.

The last address on his list is right around the corner and he’s got an appointment there in four minutes. Chris desperately hopes that it’ll be good, with a bathroom and electricity and only mildly crazy human inhabitants.

Six minutes later he finds himself back on the streets, taking deep breaths. Spiders and snakes and the smell of dead animals in thick humid air in almost complete darkness – no. Very much no. His heart is still beating too fast when his phone rings and he has to clear his throat before he can answer it.

“Hey, how’s it going? Have you found something?”

Scarlett. Chris immediately feels guilty about not saying yes to the flower shop on the spot. He’s been sleeping on his friend’s couch for two weeks now.  
“Not really”, he admits. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be”, Scarlett says, surprisingly cheerful and almost relieved. 

Chris frowns. “You know, I really love your sofa, but -”

“No, you’re not going to sleep on my sofa anymore”, Scarlett interrupts triumphantly, “’cause I have found you a place.”

“What?” He blinks, sure he’s misheard. Even Scarlett can’t find a room in this city without spending at least a week looking. Which she hasn’t.

“I’ve found you a place. Two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, reasonable rent.”

“How?”

“Anthony just met his neighbor carrying boxes and furniture out of his apartment, so he asked and as it turns out, he’s moving out and his remaining neighbor doesn’t. So there’s an empty bedroom and Anthony mentioned that you are looking. Basically you only have to go there, sign and then the room is yours.”

“Thanks, I guess?” He is a bit overwhelmed by this unexpected development. Also it sounds almost too good to be true, surely there must be a catch. Chris tries to remember Anthony’s neighbors, but fails. Which might mean they’re not that horrible because then he’d certainly heard about them, right?

 

And indeed, the man who opens half an hour later the door for him doesn’t seem horrible. More like the exact opposite. He’s wearing old, comfortable clothes and warm green socks and looks like he just crawled out of bed, fluffy brown hair sticking up in every direction and the imprint of a pillow on his cheek. He looks absolutely adorable. 

“Hi. You must be Chris.” The man’s voice is soft and slightly hoarse, as if he’s getting a cold, which would also explain his reddened eyes and the sleepiness. “I’m Sebastian. Come in.”

“Yeah, hi, um, thanks.” He follows Sebastian into the apartment. “I hope I didn’t wake you or anything? I’m sorry, my friends said I should just drop by...” 

“It’s fine, don’t worry, I wasn’t sleeping.” Sebastian stops, turns around and hits him with a smile bright enough that it could turn the spider-snake-cave into a bearable place. Everything would be bearable in the light of that smile. “So, that’s the kitchen, obviously.”

Reluctantly, Chris moves his gaze away from Sebastian’s face to look around. The kitchen doubles as hallway with three other doors going off at the sides. Right next to the apartment door leans a shelf against the white wall, containing mostly shoes, books and bags. At the other end of the room, under the window, is a table, currently occupied by apparently clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away. Pans and pots and plates cover almost every other surface in the kitchen, accompanied by almost a dozen cups on one of the three chairs.

Sebastian blushes. “It’s not usually that messy, honestly. But Ben left only a couple of hours ago, so… “ Shrugging he trails off. “Imagine everything is inside the cupboards?”

Chris can’t but to grin. “So you keep your underwear in the kitchen cupboards? That’s good to know.”

“The oven, actually.” Except for the sparks in his eyes there’s no indication whether Sebastian is joking or not. After what Chris has seen over the last weeks, it wouldn’t even really surprise him. He could very much live with that. “You could take the fridge, there’s some free space next to my socks.”

“Cool.”

Sebastian laughs and points at the door next to the shelf. “Bathroom.”

Unlike the kitchen, the bathroom is tidy. It’s small, just enough space to dress without having to step into the shower, but it’s clean and the shower’s wet, so there must be water.

“And that’d be your bedroom.” Sebastian pushes the next door open. “You can keep the sofa, if you want, it’s mine. Ben’s gonna get the rest tomorrow. Also I’m planning to renovate my room, so if you want to paint the walls in here, too, we can totally do that.”

Chris nods, slowly, standing in the half emptied former living room, surrounded by a skillfully painted landscape over three walls. Only the one with the windows is yellow. It’s beautiful but his mind is too preoccupied by processing the fact that this wasn’t Ben’s bedroom. Which means -

“Oh, I didn’t know…” Chris pauses, taken aback, looking for the right words. So that’s the catch, he thinks. Of course there had to be something. This was starting to be too perfect.

Within moments, a wall appears around Sebastian as he crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to make a pass at you.” The warmth from his voice is gone.

“What? No, I didn’t mean that like that.” Chris sighs, frustrated with his inability to use words in his favor. “I just didn’t realize Ben wasn’t just your roommate, that’s all. And it’s … I mean, he hasn’t even finished moving out yet, and I absolutely love the apartment and the room’s great, don’t get me wrong, I’d love to move in right now, but you guys just broke up? What if you get back together? Change your mind? I just don’t wanna be in the way.”

“Believe me, that won’t happen”, Sebastian says decidedly with undertones of bitterness. Then the smile finds its way back onto his face. “So, when can you move in?”

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe let me know what you think about it? Any constructive advice?
> 
> Btw some of those apartments are based on true stories, one happened almost exactly like that to me.
> 
> You can find me [here](https://whoisnivelle.tumblr.com/) on tumblr


End file.
